


New Old Friend

by DarkShade



Series: Rip Hunter - Unstuck In Time And Space [8]
Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV), Eureka (TV)
Genre: Crossover, Friendship, Gen, RipFic, Science Experiments
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-09
Updated: 2021-02-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 20:02:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,939
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25172068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkShade/pseuds/DarkShade
Summary: Rip finds himself in a town full of geniuses.To his surprise he’s already got an ally, which will be helpful, as his shard is in a top-secret research facilities highest security section.
Relationships: Gideon & Rip Hunter, Rip Hunter & Henry Deacon
Series: Rip Hunter - Unstuck In Time And Space [8]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1096425
Comments: 7
Kudos: 6





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I probably shouldn't be posting this yet as I have only a vague idea of the story. I've never written for any of the Eureka characters before so I hope they come across okay. Anyway, hopefully the next chapter will be up soon.
> 
> Enjoy

The smell of wet earth surrounded him as the light faded. Pulling himself up off the ground, Rip looked around. There were trees everywhere and the road he was standing on went on as far as the eye could see in both ways.

“Where the hell am I now?” Rip sighed.

With a grimace he decided to start walking. The one thing he’d learned since he’d began bouncing through dimensions was that he was usually either near the shard or to someone who was.

“Gideon?” he called, waited for a few moments before sighing again and turned to his left.

It was as good a direction as any.

Rip had been walking for about an hour when it began to rain, a few drops hit his hand before a torrent of water suddenly fell from the sky.

“Bollocks,” Rip snapped, moving to shelter under one of the millions of trees and watching the rain fall.

A horn honking made him turn to see a jeep with the words ‘Sheriff’ emblazoned on it drawing up beside him.

“Hi there,” the man leaned out the window, short blond hair, blue eyes, he had what could only be described as an ‘everyman’ quality to him, “Are you lost?”

Rip took a breath, “Possibly.”

“Car trouble?” the man Rip deduced from the uniform to be the Sheriff asked with an amused grin on his face.

Shrugging, Rip replied, “Something like that,” an idea struck him, “I was hoping to get into town and get a tow.”

“Well, I’m heading back now,” the man told him, “I can give you a lift.”

“I would appreciate that,” Rip smiled, and climbed into the passenger seat.

“Jack Carter,” the man introduced himself, “Town Sheriff.”

“Rip Hunter,” he reciprocated, unable to stop himself adding, “Current vagabond and drowned rat.”

Jack laughed and started to drive.

Jack looked at the man sitting beside him, the accent had instantly given away that he wasn’t from these parts. His hair was soaked and plastered to his head, although the long coat he was wearing appeared to have saved the rest of his clothes from the worst of the rain.

“There’s a clean towel in the gym bag on the back seat,” Jack told him, “If you want to dry off.”

“Thank you,” Rip replied sincerely turning and stretching for the bag.

Jack studied him for a moment before asking, “So what is your specialist subject?”

“Sorry?” Rip asked as he dried his hair.

Jack chuckled, “What do you have your Doctorate or PhD in? Mathematics of the Mind? Gene Manipulator? I’ll even pretend to understand.”

The man looked at him a little confused before replying hesitantly, “I work with Artificial Intelligence.”

“Sounds fun,” Jack said, “My house has an AI.”

“Really?”

Jack nodded, “Are they all bossy?”

Rip smiled softly, “The ones I know definitely are.”

Reaching the edge of town Jack watched Rip look of interest. He remembered the first time he walked into the insane asylum he now called home, how it had seemed so normal at first but then he saw the weirdness.

“You get used to it,” Jack told his passenger who was staring in bemusement at the people they passed.

Rip stared out the window at the perfect small town he was being driven through, something was niggling at his brain about it and finally he saw what it was. A kid on the pavement was writing a complex mathematical equation in chalk, while another sat on the ground surrounded by books of advanced biochemistry. Jack’s question about what degree he held made some actual sense now and Rip began to wonder even more where he was.

Jack turned onto what looked like a main street and parked in front of the Sheriff’s station.

“Thank you for your help, Sheriff,” Rip said as he climbed out the car, “I appreciate it.”

“It’s Jack and you can pay me back,” Jack told him, “I have some boxes I need to unload from the trunk. I could use some help. I can offer some coffee and donuts. You look like you need to heat up a bit.”

Rip hesitated, trying to work out if he should just run but Jack seemed genuine and he did owe the man.

“Of course,” Rip smiled.

“Thanks,” Jack opened the trunk, “They dumped the swap meet collection on me, well I sort of volunteered,” he pulled out a box and passed it to Rip before grabbing one for himself, “No one mentioned it would mean doing so much heavy lifting.”

Following the other man inside, Rip tensed slightly as he was now in a police station. Looking around he saw the cell and worked out three ways to release himself from it there and then.

“Henry,” Jack said making Rip turn to see a man standing waiting, “What are you doing here?”

The man, Henry, grinned, “I’m here for Rip.”

Ice filled Rip’s spine and he forced himself not to demand how the man knew who he was.

“You know Henry?” Jack asked before rolling his eyes, “Of course, getting a tow.”

“Dr Hunter is joining us for a few days to help me with a project,” Henry continued, as Rip became more confused, “All his credentials should be in the system.”

Jack sat at his computer, typing with the one finger technique which drove Rip crazy instantly, “You should have told me you were here to work for GD.”

“He’s not really,” Henry said before Rip could reply.

Jack shrugged, “As long as you don’t blow anything up or accidentally nearly end the world, I’m happy to have you in town.”

Rip chuckled, still confused but replied, “Thanks, Jack. And thanks for the ride into town.”

Henry tapped his arm, “Let’s go get some lunch and then I’ll take you to where you’ll be staying for the next few days.”

Rip walked out the Sheriff’s station with the man introduced as Henry, waiting till they were on the street before demanding, “What the hell is going on? How do you know who I am?”

“Let’s get to Café Diem first,” Henry murmured as he nodded to people greeting him, “I’ll explain once we’re there.”

Unable to argue as Henry started across the road, Rip followed. He wished Gideon were here for her opinion. Wondering if she just hadn’t found him yet or if she was busy with the Legends and hoped whatever she was doing, she appeared soon.

The café was cheerful, it only had about half a dozen people dotted around the dining area but from the smell of the food it would fill soon.

“Henry,” a man who Rip assumed was the manager walked over to them, “What can I get you?”

“Need to use one of the booths, Vincent,” Henry said, “And lunch.”

Vincent’s eyes lit up, “Something important happening?”

Henry laughed, “Just catching up with an old friend. Rip,” he introduced, “This is Vincent, he runs Café Diem.”

“Nice to meet you,” Rip nodded politely .

“And you. Whatever you want to eat just tell me,” Vincent told him with a smile, “Our motto is, ‘You want it, we’ve got it’.”

Rip smiled amused, “Give me a few minutes and I’ll let you know.”

“Booths are just back there,” Vincent smiled before leaving them to talk to someone else.

Following Henry, Rip slid into the booth across from him in the very back corner.

“Who are you?” Rip demanded softly, “And how do you know who I am?”

Henry reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper, “My name is Henry Deacon and I know who you are because you told me, the last time we met.”

“The last time we met?”

Sliding the piece of paper across to him Henry smiled, “This might help.”

Picking up the paper, Rip unfolded it and read the note. 

_You can trust Henry, Spaniel, Broad, Tricycle. Rip._

“I wrote the note,” Rip breathed.

Henry nodded, “About six years ago. For me anyway,” he shrugged, “I don’t know how long it will be for you.”

Rip let out a sigh of relief, “Then you know who I am?”

“And what can I get you gentlemen?” Vincent appeared at their table before Henry could explain any further.

“I’ll have the linguini,” Henry ordered, “And my usual coffee.”

“And you?” Vincent turned to Rip adding when Rip hesitated, “Whatever you want I can make. What’s your favourite meal?”

Rip shook his head with a chuckle, “One of my favourite meals is Fish and Chips.”

Vincent laughed, “And I thought you were going to make things difficult. What about a drink.”

“Tea please,” Rip replied, “With lemon. And yes, I know I’m reinforcing a stereotype with both orders.”

With a smile Vincent left them alone again. Henry waited until he was sure the other man was far enough away.

“Is Gideon with you?” Henry asked, seeing the same shocked expression Rip had worn several times since they’d met up.

“Ah, not at the moment.”

He grimaced, “Well, let me know when she does appear. I have something I want her to advise on.”

“Wait,” Rip rubbed his temple, “You need to tell me what’s going on because I am very confused.”

Henry chuckled, “About six years ago for me, and some indeterminate time in your future, I was working at Nasa and a bright light filled the lab I was working in. When it faded, you were there. It was three in the morning, so I did think I was hallucinating, but you knew who I was and told me we would meet again in Eureka.”

Rip frowned but remained silent.

“The thing was I had literally just received the offer to come here that morning,” Henry explained.

“And that is why you trusted me?” Rip asked.

Henry shook his head, “I trusted you because you told me something specific that I told you to tell me.”

Before Rip could ask Vincent reappeared with their meals.

“For Henry, the chicken and mushroom linguini,” Vincent slid the plate in front of him before turning to Rip, “And for you, beer battered cod with twice cooked chips, freshly shelled garden peas, blanched with a small knob of butter.”

“Wow,” Rip said surprised, “That sounds…fantastic.”

“And since I had some batter left,” Vincent placed a small bowl on the table, “I made you onion rings as well.”

Rip nodded at the chef, “Thank you.”

“Enjoy,” Vincent bustled away.

Henry smiled, “We can talk more once we’ve eaten. I’m guessing it’s been a while since you’ve had something.”

Gratefully Rip turned to the plate in front of him and began to eat.

*********************************************

Allison Blake knew today had been too quiet as she marched through the corridors of GD Section 5 to Lab 53 where Nathan was standing waiting for her.

“What’s wrong?” she demanded.

Nathan grimaced, “Not sure if wrong is the word for it.”

“Nathan, you called me down here urgently,” Allison reminded him testily, “Why, Dr Stark?”

He grimaced at the use of his title instead of his name before opening the door to the lab. He stepped out the way so she could see in, “To show you this.”

Allison looked in and gaped seeing a strangely shaped object stuck in the centre of the floor, a soft golden glow emanating from it.

“What is that?” she breathed.

Nathan sighed, “I’ve no idea but the energy it’s giving off is immense.”

“And considering the last time we encountered an unknown object giving off a massive amount of energy,” Allison grimaced.

“Then this could be trouble.”


	2. Chapter 2

Rip wasn’t sure he’d ever had a meal this good since he’d left the refuge. Not that he would ever tell Gideon.

“So,” Henry leaned back with his coffee held close, “I set you up with credentials as a leading expert in Artificial Intelligence, you even have a few papers people can look up.”

“Impressive,” Rip said, “I’ll have to have a look myself, so I know if anyone asks me.”

Henry chuckled, “I rented one of the guest houses for you to use while you’re here.”

“I’m assuming you know what the shard is,” Rip said, before asking when Henry nodded, “Have you seen it yet?”

“Unfortunately, no,” Henry grimaced, “But I have sensors I can set up to scan for the energy signature. Now I know you are here.”

Rip tilted his head in surprise, “You weren’t sure I would appear, were you?”

Shifting slightly Henry admitted, “I did wonder as we got closer to the date.”

“Yet, you set everything up for me,” Rip noted. He gave a small smile, “It’s nice to have a friend already here. Especially one who knows who I am and my current predicament.” Rip frowned in thought, “I must admit the fact that you have met me before I met you does concern me, as it has never happened before,” before adding, “Not that I know of.”

Henry started to speak but stopped when Vincent appeared again to clear their table.

“How was your lunch?” he asked.

Rip nodded, “Exceptional.”

A blush covered Vincent’s cheeks, “Well, it’s nice to be appreciated.”

“We should get going,” Henry said, “I promise to bring Rip back and you can show off your best desserts.”

Vincent nodded, “Just tell me what flavours you like, and I will make something divine.”

At Henry’s amused look, Rip smiled slightly, “That sounds wonderful. I will definitely make sure I come again.”

As Vincent disappeared, Rip frowned confused when Henry stood to leave. 

“You don’t have to pay?” he asked.

Henry smiled, “Food is free in Eureka. Come on, I’ll show you where you’re staying.”

Rip followed Henry along the path to the small cottage in the middle of the town. Henry opened the door and showed him the living room, kitchen area, bathroom and bedroom.

“Whose suitcases are those?” Rip asked as he looked at the small comfortable bedroom.

“Yours,” Henry replied, “I thought you’d need some. I’ve got you a phone and a PDA to use while you’re here.”

Turning to the other man, Rip said, “I have no way to thank you for this, Henry.”

“You already have,” Henry told him, “The day I first met you, I was feeling disillusioned with my life, with science and I had already decided to pass on the invitation to come to Eureka. You changed my mind and I am forever grateful that you did. I not only made a life here, I’ve made good friends, and even though there have been some things that I wish I could change, I would not change my decision to come here.”

Rip stood unsure what to say and hoped he could live up to that when the time came for him to meet the younger Henry.

A beeping sound made Henry sigh and he pulled out his PDA, “I have to go and help Jack. There has been a car crash in the centre of town.”

“Of course,” Rip nodded, “I hope it’s not too bad.”

“It’s not,” Henry chuckled, “We have a ‘soapbox derby’ at the weekend. This is just a few test cars but I’m the only person who has the equipment to tow them off main street. I’ll be back in a few hours and I’ll show you what I have to search for your shard.”

With a nod, Henry left Rip alone in the small house.

Rip looked around the house, studying all entrances and exits before he headed to the bedroom and opened the case. He frowned to find it empty and looked in the cupboards finding a few suits, several pairs of jeans along with a few shirts and t-shirts, similar to what he was already wearing.

Henry had planned for everything it appeared.

Grabbing the tablet, Rip found the details to access it on a small note on the screen. He found his ‘papers’ stored on the computer and easy to find. The fridge was stocked so he grabbed a bottle of iced tea and sat down to read.

Rip had an eidetic memory, so reading them once meant he would be able to discuss any of his ‘papers’ with anyone who wanted to but as he read it became clear that he already knew the contents.

“Well this is not what I expected.”

“Gideon,” Rip smiled in relief, turning to find her looking around the room, “I’m glad you’re here.”

She turned and smiled at him, “There is a strange interference around this town. It took me a little time to circumvent it and allow me to connect to you.” She turned around, “Where are we?”

“A place called Eureka,” Rip told her, with a shrug, “I’ve never heard of it in our timeline, but it is a town filled with geniuses founded by Albert Einstein himself. And this was set-up for me by someone who has met me before.”

Interest filled her eyes, “Really? Who?”

“His name is Henry Deacon,” Rip replied, “But I just met him today.”

“This means you will return to this universe at some point,” Gideon said thoughtfully before noting, “You have never done that before.”

Rip nodded, “I know.”

A small grimace touched her lips before she asked, “So, Mr Deacon has set up this house for you?”

“He’s given me credentials as well,” Rip noted, turning the tablet screen so she could see it, “Including papers I’ve written.”

Gideon smiled, “That is unusual a scientist not taking credit for their own work.”

“No,” Rip said, “I wrote them. They’re watered down a little for the period we’re in, but these are two essays I wrote in my first year of the academy.”

She laughed.

“He also knows about you,” Rip told her, “He wants your input on an idea.”

“And I am very interested in meeting him,” Gideon said.

*********************************************

Henry chuckled as he listened to Jack berate the two drivers of the cars for racing them along the town’s streets.

“Don’t forget,” Henry added, “This could mean disqualification from the race.”

He could see Jack was forcing himself not to laugh at the look of horror that covered the faces of the two men at the thought.

“You can pick up your cars at the garage later,” Henry told them.

Jack stared at the two men who were just standing there, “Go.”

Henry made sure the two cars were secure turning when Jack said his name.

“How’s your friend?”

“Settling in,” Henry replied, “It’s good to see him again.”

Jack nodded for a second before he noted, “It’s odd he didn’t just tell me he was coming to see you.”

Internally wincing, his friend’s intuition was not a good thing at this time, Henry shrugged, “Well, Rip can be a little reticent when it comes to people he doesn’t know.”

“I guess I’m just far too used to scientists who live in a town made for them,” Jack chuckled.

Henry dropped the cars at his garage before heading back to the house where Rip was staying. He was still stunned that the other man had appeared at the time Rip had told him he would but was happy to see him.

Rip had helped reignite Henry’s love of science. His story of being from another universe, his knowledge of time travel, his AI papers, and the glowing shard. When both disappeared the moment Rip touched it, Henry knew he had to go to Eureka.

“Rip,” he knocked on the door and opened it, “Are you ready?”

The other man appeared, a small smile on his lips, “Yes.”

“Excellent,” Henry grinned, “I’ve been looking forward to trying out my detector. I worked on it but without a shard I couldn’t test it until now.”

“Well, between us we should be able to make it work,” Rip told him before noting, “Gideon is here.”

Henry’s grin became bigger, “Gideon, I have something I need you to look over as well.”

Rip smiled slightly before confirming, “She is very interested in whatever you want her to look at.”

“Then let’s go.”

They reached the garage and Henry motioned Rip inside before closing and locking the door.

“Alright,” Henry said, picking up the interface he’d created and showing it to Rip “Let’s work on this first before looking for the shard.”

“And this is?” Rip asked, taking a hold of the small silver disc.

Henry grinned, “Hopefully a way Gideon can talk to me as well as you.” He tapped the computer, “Look at this.”

Rip studied the computer simulation interest covering his face, “That’s…”

“I thought you might like that,” Henry chuckled when the other man trailed off, “Okay, we just need to calibrate the disc.”

Studying the information on the computer screen, Rip frowned suddenly, “Yes, I know.” He glanced up at Henry, “Gideon has a few suggestions.”

“I can’t wait to meet her,” Henry told him. 

Rip rolled his eyes muttering under his breath, “You may regret that.” He winced suddenly, “I’m just kidding, Gideon.”

Henry smiled amused at the sight of Rip bickering with thin air, but it was something he remembered well from the last time they’d met. It was why he’d come up with the idea to find a way for her to interact with the rest of the world, which would also build into the story that Rip was an expert in the field of Artificial Intelligence. 

Rip finished checking over Henry’s work, impressed by how intelligent this man was and happy that he’d somehow met him. He was probably the only person who found meeting Henry in the wrong order completely normal. Considering his life, it was practically mundane.

“What do you think?” he turned to Gideon as Henry disappeared into the back of the garage for the equipment that they’d need to locate the shard.

“I like him,” Gideon said, “As well as his idea to allow me to speak with people other than yourself.”

Rip nodded, “It’ll let you nag people other than me.”

“I do not nag, Captain,” Gideon replied tartly, “I merely provide suggestions to ensure that you do get yourself hurt or killed.”

Chuckling Rip finished his work and smiled at her, “Well, we’re about to find out. Henry,” he motioned the other man over, “I’m ready.”

“Okay,” Henry reappeared, “I’m looking forward to this. I have been working on the interface for years now and had no way to test it until now.”

Rip stood still as he allowed Henry to connect the small silver disc to his right temple, wincing slightly at the sharp pinch.

“Alright,” excitement filled Henry’s voice, “I am activating this in three, two…” he hit the button.

Rip looked around waiting but nothing seemed to happen, “What went wrong?”

Henry smiled, “Nothing,” his eyeline moved to Rip’s right, “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Gideon,”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had this sitting half-done for a while, so I'm happy I managed to finish the chapter.  
> Next one should hopefully be up soon.

Jack grimaced as he listened to the tenth complaint phone call in a row about power outages. Glancing over to where Jo sat, he saw she was listening to something very similar.

“Okay, Mr Fredrickson,” Jack said, finally managing to get a word in, “We’ll look into it.”

Hanging up he sighed, waiting for Jo to finish her conversation.

“Call Henry?” Jo asked the moment she’d hung up.

“Please,” Jack clasped his hands together. He headed over to their small chalkboard they had and cleaned it. He updated it to read, ‘0 days since something weird has happened.’ They’d never made it to 4 days never mind a full week.

Jo appeared at his side and handed him the phone, “Henry.”

“Henry,” Jack said the instant he took the phone, “We’ve had calls that there are a lot of power surges and outages around town. Tell me it’s not you.”

There was a pause before the other man replied, “Not from anything I have going on just now.”

Jack sighed, “Damn. That means GD is more than likely to be the culprit. I might need your expertise while I check this out.”

“We’ll meet you there,” Henry said before hanging up.

Frowning slightly, Jack mused, “We?”

Henry hung up the phone turning to where Rip and Gideon were scanning over some of his inventions. The AI was impressive but also very opinionated. 

Henry loved her.

“Problem?” Rip asked.

Henry nodded, “I think your shard may be causing some power problems in town. I’m heading to Global Dynamics. Feel like coming along?”

Rip smiled interested, “I assume I have the credentials.”

“Who do you think you’re talking to?” Henry tried to look offended but didn’t quite manage to get rid of his smile, “Your ID badge is in the wallet I gave you.”

Gideon frowned, “I assume I will be turned off.”

Rip bit his lip at her tart inquiry as Henry turned to her.

“Actually no,” he smiled, “GD is used to people field testing their experiments. Although we might want to avoid Fargo, he is our current AI expert.”

Gideon smiled sweetly making Henry chuckle at how Rip rolled his eyes. Grabbing his coat Henry led them out to the truck. Rip climbed inside and Gideon appeared to sit between them.

Starting to drive, Henry smiled as he saw Gideon study their surroundings.

“Dr Deacon,” she said, “I am intrigued by the town. You stated that it was created for those with genius intelligence?”

Henry nodded, “Back in the fifties Albert Einstein and President Truman founded the town as a haven for the smartest people in the country. To give them a place to create and learn. It wasn’t much at first but soon the town grew.”

“It is a shame we do not have a place like this within our own universe,” Gideon noted thoughtfully, “It would have been a good place to relocate the children after we removed the Time Masters.”

Rip shrugged before musing, “It would be an interesting place to have grown up,” sadness filled his voice, “Or to raise a child.”

Gideon shook her head so Henry wouldn’t ask Rip anything, she didn’t say anything further simply watching the scenery fly by. Reaching GD, Henry was pleased by the soft impressed noise Rip made when he drove through the shield surrounding it.

“Hologrammatic shielding,” Rip noted, “Impressive.”

Henry nodded, “There are a lot of top-secret projects within this building, we need good security.”

“Of course,” Rip nodded, a small smirk on his face.

Henry frowned, “What?”

“I believe Captain Hunter has already worked out several ways to infiltrate this building,” Gideon noted amused.

Glancing at the other man, Henry frowned at the slight shrug, “Just try to refrain from doing anything that will get you thrown in federal prison. Or do you know how to escape from that too?”

Innocence covered Rip’s face as they climbed out the truck and started to the front door. Henry pulled out his security badge and motioned Rip to show his. The guard studied it for a second before turning to Gideon.

“She isn’t real,” Henry said before explaining Gideon was an ‘experiment’ Rip was working on.

Looking extremely impressed the guard motioned them inside and Henry led them to the rotunda. Turning he found Gideon glaring at him.

“I’m not real?” she demanded sharply.

“He didn’t mean it like that, Gideon,” Rip soothed, “It was a simple way to get past the guard without going into the technical specifications.” Giving a sniff she turned to look around and Rip shrugged, “She may forgive you sometime soon.”

Henry moved to stand in front of Gideon, “I am extremely sorry I called you not real, Gideon. I never intended to insult you.”

Gideon smiled and nodded graciously before turning to Rip, “You should be taking notes.”

Before Rip could retort a call came making them turn to see Jack jogging over to them.

Jack Carter had the look of a man who knew he was about to step into an insane asylum, a look Rip often saw on his own face when dealing with the Legends.

“I called Alison,” Jack said as he reached them, “She should be meeting us soon.” He looked at Gideon and asked, “Who is this?”

“I am Gideon,” she replied, “It is a pleasure to meet you, Sheriff.”

Jack moved to shake her hand stunned when it went through hers, “What?”

Henry laughed, “Sorry, Jack. Gideon is an AI, very advanced. Rip is testing an interface.”

Rip turned showing the disc attached to his temple, “Henry agreed to help me with the experiment.”

“What do you want, Carter?” a bored voice came from behind them.

Rip turned with the other two men to see a tall man with a sneer of superiority on his face walking with an elegant woman whose air of authority marked her as the boss.

“Nathan,” she scolded the man at her side before turning to them, “Carter, Henry and,” she paused at Rip, “Dr Hunter I presume.”

Rip nodded and took her offered hand, “Yes,” he said before adding, “And this is Gideon, my AI companion.”

“Dr Alison Blake,” she introduced herself to both of them, “Gideon, you are incredible.”

Gideon smiled back, “Thank you, Dr Blake.”

“Please don’t,” Rip muttered, “Her ego is big enough as it is.”

At Gideon’s sharp look he stared innocently at her.

“Dr Nathan Stark,” the final man introduced himself, “I’ve read your papers on Artificial Intelligence.”

A cough made them all turn to the Sheriff, who was standing waiting to explain why everyone has been called.

“Carter,” Alison turned to the Sheriff, “What do you need?”

Jack turned his attention from looking annoyed at the new man to Alison, “We’re getting reports all over town of power outages. I checked with Henry and it’s not him.”

“That’s some police work there, Carter,” Stark stated.

Irritation covered Jack’s face, but he continued, “We’ve gone over the other options in town and it’s not connected to any of them. So, here I am.”

Alison held up her hand to stop Stark from retorting, “We will check the list of projects to see if there is anything that could be causing the outages.”

“What about my favourite place, Section 5?” Jack demanded.

“That’s classified, Carter,” Stark stated, “As you know.”

“And as you know,” Jack retorted, “It’s usually the cause of all the problems.”

Alison sighed in annoyance, “Section 5 projects will be included in my check. Why don’t we head to my office?”

*********************************************

Gideon was fascinated by Global Dynamics. Not the humans, who were arguing as humans usually did while her Captain was sitting watching, taking in the dynamics and relationships between the people in the room.

The interface her Captain was wearing which allowed her to be seen by the people in this world, had the excellent side-effect of allowing Gideon to interact with the computer systems of this world.

And the Global Dynamics computers were fascinating. None were as advanced as she was of course, but for the period they were in, advanced enough.

She hadn’t informed her Captain of her new abilities just yet; he might insist she not pry too much into the information she should not be privy to. Considering all the things he’d had her hack in the past though, he had no way to complain but she felt it best to keep this information to herself for the moment.

Accessing all the files for the people in the room, Gideon was impressed by Dr Blake. Smart and independent, she was raising her son alone who himself was different. Dr Deacon, Gideon already liked but seeing his file she was very impressed, and in another life, he would have been taken as a Time Master. Sheriff Carter was not as conventionally smart as the others, but he had his own kind of intelligence and his file showed how many times he had saved the town.

Finally, was Dr Stark, who Gideon didn’t like at all. Yes, he was smart but in this room that wasn’t unusual, but he believed himself smarter than everyone else. Gideon had seen that arrogance before in Thawne, in Druce and so many others.

He was the type of person who could so easily fall into supervillainy if the right, or wrong, type of dominoes fell. It looked however that the people in the room with him kept him on the right side, if only just.

Scanning the systems, Gideon checked for the power issues to help the Sheriff. Going through all the projects, she was impressed by some of the things the scientists were studying although others were laughable but that was humans, eternally optimistic.

Continuing her way through the systems, Gideon turned to Rip.

“I need to speak to you privately,” Gideon said to him softly.

Confused Rip touched the interface and turned it off before he moved to the other side of the office away from the others.

“What is it?” he asked softly so he wasn’t overheard.

“I have checked the projects within Global Dynamics, and nothing could cause the power outages Sheriff Carter is investigating,” Gideon told him.

Rip frowned, “How…”

“The interface Dr Deacon created allows me to access the computers,” Gideon smiled at him, “Quite interesting.”

Rolling his eyes, Rip noted, “But I’m guessing that is not what you wanted to tell me.”

“Astute as always, Captain,” Gideon replied before telling him, “The shard is in a laboratory in the area known as Section Five. It appears safe at the moment but accessing it may be difficult.”

“Wonderful,” Rip sighed.

Rip was surprised and extremely interested that Gideon could use the interface to access the computers, but it would likely be helpful to reach the shard. Henry motioned him to follow on as he and the Sheriff headed out the office.

“Well?” Rip asked Henry falling into step with the other two men.

“They’ll let us know,” Henry replied, as Jack let out an annoyed sigh.

They reached the exit and started to the cars. Glancing at Gideon, Rip shrugged, “It’s nothing in here that’s causing the power outages.”

Henry and Jack both stalled turning to Rip.

“How do you know that?” Jack demanded.

“Gideon,” Rip explained, “She had a quick check of the systems.”

Henry’s eyebrows rose in surprise, “The interface?”

“A small side-effect we didn’t expect,” Rip noted.

Jack chuckled, “Let’s not tell Alison or Stark about that but at least I won’t be wasting my time waiting for them.” He rested a hand on the top of his jeep, frowning in thought, “Okay, so there has to be a reason why the power in the town in going crazy.”

“Well, it has to be someone in town,” Henry noted, “But if it’s not a GD experiment, then it could be either an unsanctioned one or, even worse, a school project.”

Rip stared at them, “You’re kidding?”

Both men shook their heads, Jack adding, “I thought the same when I first came here but the kids are just as smart as the parents. Which means they can be just as much trouble.”

“Okay,” Henry said, “Let’s get back into town and make a plan.”

Jack nodded, “I’ll meet you both there.”

As the other man left, Henry and Rip climbed back into Henry’s truck. Rip reactivated the interface allowing Gideon to be seen by Henry once more.

“So,” Henry said as he began to drive, “Did you find anything else interesting while you wandered through the GD systems, Gideon?”

Innocence covered her face, “Why, Dr Deacon I am shocked you think I would look at things I am not authorised to access,” she told him. 

A mischievous smile touched her lips making Henry laugh.


End file.
